Role of Akt/protein kinase B in the activity of transcriptional coactivator p300

Akt/protein kinase B is a downstream target of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and plays a critical role in promotion of cell survival. The function of transcriptional coactivator p300 is required by many transcription factors to either activate or repress gene expression. Here, we show that induction of PI3K enhances the metabolic stability of endogenous p300 protein. On the other hand, repression of PI3K by LY294002 induces p300 degradation through the 26S proteasome pathway and impedes the transcriptional activity of the coactivator. In addition, Akt interacts with the coactivator and the activity of Akt is required to maintain the steady-state level of p300. Our study provides a new insight into the molecular mechanisms by which the critical concentration of p300 protein is regulated and suggests a role for Akt in control of various cellular activities through the transcriptional coactivator p300.